Marietta’s Completely Honest Review of Wegman’s Home Delivery

Today, I decided to give the new Wegmans home delivery service a try. What follows is my unadulterated review of my experience.

This morning, I downloaded the Instacart app, which offered a one-year free trial of their delivery service. Good deal, if I do say so. I also had a coupon code for $20 off of a $35 purchase (code: HISYRACUSE), which I thought was a pretty good deal since Wegmans requires a minimum $35 purchase in order to use the service.

The site automatically charges your card for a minimum of $35 (if your order is less than $35). You can choose the time frame for your delivery. Because I knew I’d be out of town for the day, I selected delivery from 8-9 p.m. and made a note in the comments that the order could be left on my porch if I wasn’t home at deliver time.

At approximately 6:00 p.m., I received a notification that my “shopper” was selecting items for my order. I then received a notification that the shopper replaced the romaine salad with Triple Washed Romaine Salad (same price). I approved the change not realizing that the new salad was not just lettuce, which I wanted, but lettuce with carrots and cabbage.

At 7:55 p.m., I received a notification that my order was being delivered. Around the same time, I received a phone call from Instacart informing me that the shopper was at my house. I returned the call and explained that I wanted the order left on the porch, as written in the notes on my order.

When I returned home, the order was not on my porch, so I called Instacart. The representative I spoke with explained to me that the order had been delivered and was…ready for this?…under the grill on the back patio, next to the propane tank. Yup, that’s where it was. The representative explained that the shopper probably didn’t want the groceries to be stolen. Okay. I still don’t know how to process that.

Every item in my order was in the bags under my grill. The produce I ordered was fresh and like what I would have chosen in the store. I was curious about the price increase from the items in the store and the items that were delivered. Here’s what I noticed: Bananas typically cost $0.49/lb. The five bananas I purchase would have cost $0.90 in the store (per the sticker on the bananas). I was charged $1.08. The grapes weighed .85 lbs and would have cost $1.68 in the store. I was charged $1.95. The package of bacon would cost $6.29 in the store, but cost $7.19 delivered. Strawberries retail for $3.49/16 oz.; they were $3.99 delivered. The four pack of avocados I ordered typically cost $6.99/bag; delivered, they were $7.89. Perhaps the greatest markup was with the Wegmans brand coffee pods. Purchased in the store, they would have run approximately $3.99. Delivered, they were $6.29.

In all, the Wegmans service is convenient. I’m not sure how quickly I’ll use it again. I’m interested in seeing how other delivery services might work out.

If you’ve tried a home delivery service, I’d love to hear your experience.